Wayne, NJ Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

Part 2 of Chapter 38, Article VII, governs drinking outside licensed premises in Wayne Township. Section 38-29 defines a public area broadly: public parks, playgrounds, trails, paths and other recreational areas; other public and semipublic open spaces, including public streets, parking lots and garages, walkways, sidewalks and rest areas and the areas described in § 200-35, Schedule VII of Chapter 200; scenic and historic sites; sites for schools and other public buildings and structures; and the interior of a private motor vehicle while it is on any public street, lane or public parking lot or other public or quasi-public area or place.

Section 38-30(A) prohibits two separate things inside the Township limits: consuming alcoholic beverages, and having in your possession any opened container with unconsumed alcoholic beverage in it. Either one is barred in a public area unless the person first obtains a permit allowing the consumption in that area. The application is obtained from the office of the Township Clerk, and approval must be granted by the New Jersey State Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

Subsection (B) adds a littering-style rule aimed at containers. No person shall discard an alcoholic beverage container on any public street, lane, sidewalk, public parking lot, or public or quasi-public area or place, or on any private property that is not his or her own, without the express consent of the owner.

A different article covers young people. Article VIII, §§ 38-32 to 38-34, makes it unlawful for a person under the legal age to knowingly possess or consume an alcoholic beverage on private property, with exceptions for religious observance and for a parent, guardian or relative of legal age who gives permission. Its fines are $250 for a first offense and $350 for any subsequent offense, and the court can also suspend or postpone the driver's license for six months.